Showdown: Forbes Vs. Fortune
November 7th: Fortune Magazine calls the Seattle metro area one of twenty-five markets poised to fall. Over the next five years they predict a drop of 19.5%.
November 15th: Forbes says Seattle’s housing market is undervalued.
But the good news is that market slumps often result in good buys, and solid investments get tagged with bargain prices due to the volatile market. One place to look for these deals is the housing sector, where worries about a continuing dip in home prices are keeping many buyers on the sidelines, and keeping a lid on prices. Looking across the country for undervalued markets, we came up with five picks for city markets or submarkets that are cheap based on what their particular market fundamentals suggest.
…the latest Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller housing index numbers suggest Seattle prices are still strong. The numbers don’t really tell the full story, though, since they’re a running average, not a daily spot-price index.
They also fail to consider the condo market. Talk to builders or investment analysts about Seattle’s condo or multifamily construction market, and they’ll say there’s no glut. In 2002 and 2003, the condo and A-class rental market experienced a huge inventory over-expansion from too much multifamily construction–which either became rental apartments or condos–and was in no position to grow during the tail of the housing boom.
